At Villa Corrizone, the Mayor’s wife Sarelda prepares for “Inspector” Tancredi’s visit and dresses down her daughter Beatrice (at left, literally trapped in Santa Schifezza) for not dressing up for him. Beatrice, silly thing, is more concerned about a certain dictator’s rise in Italy. Cosimo enters ahead of Tancredi, and Sarelda extracts information from him,
Read MorePosts Categorized: Blog
The Inspector, Scene 2: White Lies
At the hotel, Cosimo and Tancredi also bemoan their dreary existence in Santa Schifezza and the circumstances that have stranded them there, lira-less, on their way to Palermo. A knock at the door. The Mayor enters. Tension. Cosimo and Tancredi are terrified of the Mayor because they believe he’s there to arrest them for not
Read MoreThe Inspector, Scene 1: Damage Control
It’s a tough morning for the Mayor of Santa Schifezza. The town anthem is being rehearsed in preparation for tomorrow’s Municipal Mayoral Day—a day he instituted in honor of himself—and it sounds awful. But worse, far worse, he learns that an inspector from Rome may soon be visiting his town, incognito, undermining the very way
Read MoreWelcome to Santa Schifezza
*Santa Schifezza: a fictional, small town that would be near Palermo if it existed. Some parts of Sicily are known for their visual splendor, verdant vineyards on cliffs overlooking an azure Mediterranean or quaint fishing villages charmed by Greek, Roman, Moorish and/or Norman architecture. This is not one of those parts. SS is dusty. SS
Read MoreMusic Worth Listening To Is Worth Listening To
The second half of Kate Lindsey’s April 8 concert includes five songs from Miss Manners on Music, a cycle by Dominick Argento. The texts for these songs are by Miss Manners, excerpted from her etiquette columns with their signature combination of truth and humor. In addition to a Prologue (from which the post title is
Read MoreJeder Mensch
These days, I alternate world premiere prep by day with dusting off my piano chops by night. Artists for The Inspector arrive this weekend, and the show opens on April 27. But before that, I’ll have the privilege of taking the stage with mezzo Kate Lindsey for a recital at The Barns. On that recital
Read MoreCan You Hear Me Now?
Last night I had the pleasure of attending the first preview of a new musical featuring the lyrics of Mark Campbell, librettist for The Inspector (premiering April 27 at The Barns!). This isn’t a “review” blog, and I’m not a critic. Nor would it be fair to post any of my opinions about a show
Read More2011 Season On Sale Tomorrow! (Saturday 3/12/11)
Wolf-Ferrari Le donne curiose June 17, 19 & 25 at The Barns Including a fabulous preshow chat by yours truly one hour before curtain Written near the beginning of Wolf-Ferrari’s career, The Curious Women is a charming chamber opera. We discovered it a few years ago, and I’ve been carrying around a score for a
Read MoreWTOC 1985: Transformations
Susa’s Transformations took The Barns by storm in summer 1985. An amazing cast in an exciting and edgy production. I had just managed to worm my way into Wolf Trap (see the music staff listing below), having defected recently from my first career in music therapy. (Possibly, the fact that this production of Transformations was
Read More1984 Wolf Trap Opera Company: Overview
It’s great fun to begin to see truly familiar names in programs and paperwork from the mid-80’s. The 1984 list includes coaches who were to become my colleagues (JoAnn Kulesza, Carol Palca), Foundation staff who are still here toiling away at the Trap (Bob Grimes of The Barns), and an administrator who was to become
Read More